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ostracize

 - 3 dictionary results

os⋅tra⋅cize

  [os-truh-sahyz]
Use ostracize in a Sentence
–verb (used with object), -cized, -ciz⋅ing.
1. to exclude, by general consent, from society, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc.: His friends ostracized him after his father's arrest.
2. to banish (a person) from his or her native country; expatriate.
3. (in ancient Greece) to banish (a citizen) temporarily by popular vote.
Also, especially British, os⋅tra⋅cise.

Origin:
1640–50; < Gk ostrakízein, equiv. to óstrak(on) potsherd, tile, ballot (akin to óstreion oyster, shell) + -izein -ize

Related forms:
os⋅tra⋅ciz⋅a⋅ble, adjective
os⋅tra⋅ci⋅za⋅tion, noun
os⋅tra⋅ciz⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1. shun, snub, blacklist.

Antonyms:
1. accept.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To ostracize
os·tra·cize   (ŏs'trə-sīz')   
tr.v.   os·tra·cized, os·tra·ciz·ing, os·tra·ciz·es

  1. To exclude from a group. See Synonyms at blackball.

  2. To banish by ostracism, as in ancient Greece.


[Greek ostrakizein, from ostrakon, shell, potsherd (from the potsherds used as ballots in voting for ostracism); see ost- in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
Main Entry:  ostracize
Part of Speech:  v
Definition:  to banish or expel; abolish
Etymology:  Greek ostrakizein 'to banish by voting with potsherds'
Dictionary.com's 21st Century Lexicon
Copyright © 2003-2009 Dictionary.com, LLC
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